Earth One

The big DC news this week is unquestioningly the announcement of a series of ongoing (!) graphic novels that will be set in a shared universe called Earth One. This has the potential to be very exciting. The first two are -- unsurprisingly -- focusing on Batman and Superman.

I was immediately on board with Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on the Batman book. But I hesitated a bit when I heard that J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis would be doing Superman. I have no problem with Davis's work, but Straczynski has been pretty hit or miss for me. I loved his work on the initial Web one shot, but his Brave and the Bold stuff has mostly left me cold.

But as I delved in a bit more about these projects I started to change my mind. I read the inaugural interview with Mr. Straczynski (you can get at in through the link) and I was sold. I knew then that the guy gets Superman. And that he really cares. I got all of that from a story Mr. Straczynski told to the interviewer:

True story: I was at Chicago Comic-Con a number of years ago, standing in the dealer's room, when some guy grabbed a bunch of expensive items off a table and made a run for it down the aisle, being chased by the owner of the table. Everybody in the aisle did a fast fade, parting before this guy like the Red Sea. I brought the mofo down and the two of us held him for the police. The con organizer later came up to me and said, "Why'd you do that? He was half your age and twice as big, you could've been hurt." I pointed to where I'd been standing, in front of a ten-foot-tall cutout of Superman. "How could I stand under that, in front of him, and do nothing?" I said.

That was all I needed to hear. I'll definitely be picking up both of the Earth One graphic novels.